User talk:SwordMage
Timelines and Their History at EQ2i One of the big strengths of EQ2i is its clear ability to follow linear quest lines through to their completion as Sony intended them to be done (that is, in the order intended). Assuming all is right with Sony's order, all should be right with our timelines. This wasn't always the case. Sony didn't always do linear quest lines. But EQ2i has almost always used them because that was *our* strenght in the beginning. It's common now, but it wasn't. Early in in EQ2, quests were scattered higgldy-piggdly all over Antonica and creation. But now it's *very* clear how they want people to progress through the zones, at least the starting zones, and that's some incredible work on Sony's part. We have always tried to reflect that with our timelines and the series of quests within them (even when Sony didn't). But you've rightly identified that there's a point where they break down. Our compromise, as you're seeing in the districts quests you're adding for the Ruins and other places, is to add a special section like "Other Quests" or even the dreaded "Miscellaneous" heading. But for any *clear* grouping of quests, even if they're not linear, we'd prefer a more precise heading such as "Mushroom Toon Series" or "Crossroads Bob Series", with the use of bullets instead of of numbered lists, to avoid any confusion over the order. I think you've been doing a fine job. If you see something that needs updating, have at it. We can always tweak things later. And we'll try not to do it while you're actively working on a section. Also, if you ever need us, we're just a talk page or irc chat away. :)--Kodia 23:19, 28 October 2007 (UTC) : Yes, when I last contributed (last year) I was extremely pleased with the timeline system. I have even tried to carry over the concept to Vanguard Spheres (although I never got past the timeline pages to filling in many of the quest pages). For something like Commonlands, it is easy to see a spot to add the dread misc quests and I have tried to do that for some; however, for the 1-15 level quests that are spread all over Freeport and Qeynos, that becomes a bit problematic (note, the same problem doesn't arise around GFay and Neriak by the nature of the zone design). : The part that I think is missing is some sort of level/zone catalog of all the quests that allows the reader to see what quests are available to be done. In some ways, that is easier for Allakhazam to handle and easier still for EQ2 Questlist (my favorite catalog site -- no spoilers). : The only time that I think I run into problems is when the city tasks are categorized in the same zone category as normal quests. In that case the quests tend to be lost in the large list. It would be easier if all non-writ quests gave AA exp, but they don't. :All of this is just to say that I really do like what I have found and am only trying to polish some of what I perceive to be rough edges; I generally have no problem trying something if I don't think it will be disruptive. In the case of the low level Freeport misc quests, I started asking questions because I didn't see a way to slip them in without doing damage to the existing structure or just hiding them in a place no one would look for them anyway. --SwordMage 00:19, 29 October 2007 (UTC) New Timeline pages You can go ahead with the timelines. I just tried to use the displaytl field in the QuestInformation template. If this field is used then there isn't a problem anymore with the OtherResources Box. Here is an example: * uses the displaytl field. * doesn't use it. I noticed that there were no timeline pages but I never created those pages before. So I hoped that maybe someone else would work on it. --Airlyth 07:39, 30 October 2007 (UTC) timelines and sidebars ok, if your gonna be creating new timeline pages, lets get you to do it right and make everything mesh into the giant tangled cloud we call eq2i. *Nektulos_Forest_Timeline this is a timeline PAGE, when a the quest template gets something in the "timeline" field, it builds a link to FIELD + " Timeline", this link is used in the navigation bar at the bottom of the quest. this one is required when setting up a timeline *Template:Nektulos_Forest_Timeline * this is a timeline SIDEBAR. as seen on the side of some quests. if the quest template gets a timeline value AND the displaytl is filled in (it doesnt have to be "y", it can be anything, just not blank), the quest template (through a series of calls to other templates) attempt to display the timeline sidebar on the side of the quest. this page name is the same as the timeline PAGE, but it is in the template namespace. this one is optional, but its not that hard to complex to make, so there really aught to be one for every timeline. it more than anything makes it easy to see quest progression. as for the "Weirdness" with the Other Resource box overlapping overtop of the quest template, thats becasuse long time ago, we had to manually put the include at the top of quests (outside the template) that we wanted the sidebar to show up on. now, with the new ORbox stuff, they are both trying to fight over what gets floated to the rightside of the page. if you comeacross somepage with this issue, removed the at the top, and add a "displaytl=y" field to the quest template. if you have anymore questions after this, poke me. just remember, i didnt write everything on this site, many many MANY manhours of coding was done far before i got here, so even i dont know how everything works until i poke at it (or until it breaks). --Uberfuzzy 10:50, 6 November 2007 (UTC) Naming policy and zones Hi there. I just thought I'd let you know that I clarified the policy on the naming and specifically the naming of zones and POIs a bit given the recent confusion with The Graveyard. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you find any more items like this as I make my way through the policies and I'll try to clarify things.--Kodia 14:51, 15 December 2007 (UTC) : My problem with The Graveyard wasn't the zone name so much as whether or not the zone name and the Jcat name should match or whether the jcat name should be what is in-game even if it isn't the zone name. If, as I assume, it should be the zone name, that should be made clear in the documentation that shows up when you start a new questinfo page. --SwordMage 16:09, 15 December 2007 (UTC)